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Taiwan H1N1 cases listed separately by WHO

ROC Central News Agency

2009/05/24 21:40:22
Taipei, May 24 (CNA) The World Health Organization (WHO) has begun to list Taiwan's confirmed cases of influenza A (H1N1 flu) as a separate entry at the bottom of its statistical table under the name "Chinese Taipei" rather than pooling them with China's.

Centers for Disease Control Director-General Steve Kuo attributed the change to Taiwan's resolute protests and communication with the WHO, and he said the change indicated that it had taken Taiwan's position on the issue into consideration.

In the WHO's 37th update on the number of confirmed cases of influenza A (H1N1) around the world, issued Saturday morning in Geneva, Taiwan's one reported case was added to the grand total of cases in the table and then described in a note below the table.

"Chinese Taipei has reported 1 confirmed case of influenza A (H1N1) with 0 deaths. Cases from Chinese Taipei are included in the cumulative totals provided in the table above, " the note read.

The grand total of 12,022 cases was one more than the 12,021 cases obtained by adding up the total of the listed countries in update 37, confirming the WHO's change in policy.

"I am not satisfied, but I can accept it, " said Department of Health Minister Yeh Ching-chuan Sunday of the Chinese Taipei note.

Yeh said that Taiwan, which now has six confirmed cases of the new swine flu strain, only reported one to the WHO because it was unsure how the world health body would record them. Now that Taiwan's cases are not being included as part of China's, the WHO has been notified of the other five cases.

A ranking Department of Health official said that because Taiwan is not a "state party to the International Health Regulations (2005)," it would be very difficult for Taiwan to be given an entry in the table with an acceptable name.

During the SARS outbreak in 2003, Taiwan was listed in the table initially as Taiwan, China and later as "China, Taiwan." The "China, Taiwan" entry followed "China, " "China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region" and "China, Macao Special Administrative Region," clearly placing it as part of China.

The WHO's reversal came after Department of Health officials still attending the World Health Assembly in Geneva immediately protested when a WHO staff member confirmed Friday that Taiwan's H1N1 cases were being added to China's total.

The officials told the WHO that if the world health body did not make an adjustment, it would no longer notify it of new H1N1 cases.

Taiwan's government has been accused by the opposition of undermining the country's sovereignty by getting China's consent to attend the WHA as an observer. The WHO's inclusion of Taiwan's H1N1 case in China's total, essentially implying that Taiwan was part of China, only drew further criticism of the government's policy.

(By Neil Lu and Luke Sabatier) enditem